Medical University of Warsaw
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Dr. Waclaw Mayzel Medical Laurel for a series of publications on the impact of pandemics on the health of students in Poland

Dr. Waclaw Mayzel Medical Laurel
The authors of the series are medical students: Alicja Jodczyk, Przemyslaw Kasiak, Zuzanna Sikora, and this year's graduates of the medical studies - Joanna Gębarowska and Grzegorz Gruba, and of dietetics - Natalia Adamczyk. The Dr. Waclaw Mayzel Medical Laurel, a distinction for students involved in scientific work, is awarded annually by the V Faculty of Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The Dr. Waclaw Mayzel Medical Laurel is awarded to students for highly regarded scientific work done prior to obtaining a university diploma. The laureates are chosen by the faculty members at the Plenary Meeting. This year, seven student publications or publication series were recognized. The winners were announced on November 17.

The publications by students and graduates from MUW are based on the results of a survey they designed called PaLS - Pandemic against LifeStyle. PaLS is the first such project to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the lifestyles of Polish students, taking into account all five pillars of lifestyle medicine. These are: sleep, physical activity, nutrition, mental health and stimulant use. The survey was conducted on a wide representation of Polish students - data was collected from more than 1,600 people. Most of them declared the negative impact of the pandemic and the restrictions introduced because of it on their lifestyles. The results of the analysis also highlighted the scale of the problem - in all pillars. - The most important conclusion of the published series is the need for education and promotion of healthy lifestyles - says Zuzanna Sikora on behalf of the creators of the study. She adds: - It is necessary to make young people aware of the consequences associated with, for example, adopting inappropriate ways of eating, while at the same time popularizing knowledge about the proper composition and quantity of meals and undertaking physical activity.
 
All of the Laureates were or are members of the Student Scientific Circle of Lifestyle Medicine, operating at the Third Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology MUW. The publications were written under the substantive supervision of Prof. Artur Mamcarz, head of the Department, and Daniel Slize, MD, PhD, the Scientific Circle's supervisor. The papers were published in the prestigious scientific journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.